20 Accomplished Women Share How to Dress for Success

Posted by Adena Leigh on March 5, 2015, Updated on March 6, 2018

Somewhere in between sporting the latest trends and conforming to stuffy pantsuits lies your fashion sweet spot: that signature style that showcases your personality while simultaneously making a professional impression.

In honour of International Women's Day, we’re sharing fashion advice from some of the most inspiring, accomplished women of all time (who also happen to be incredibly well-dressed). Here’s what they have to say about dressing for success:

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Michelle Obama

On having fun with fashion:
"First and foremost, I wear what I love. That's what women have to focus on: what makes them happy and what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion." — Michelle Obama, Vogue, February 2009

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Audrey Hepburn

On inner beauty:
"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows and the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years." ― Audrey Hepburn

Diane Keaton

On clothes and confidence:
"I have my problems, my issues with my looks. . . . I've always thought that if I frame it right, it'll be a little bit better — that I'll look just a little bit better than what I was given." ― Diane Keaton as told to Oprah, 2006

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Beyonce

On inner beauty:
"My biggest thing is to teach not to focus on the aesthetic. It's really about who you are, and the human being, that makes you beautiful." ― Beyonce

Sophia Amoruso

On conformity:
"Had I tried to fit in, Nasty Gal would have crashed and burned a long time ago. The last thing the world needs is another boring person or another boring brand, so embrace all the things that make you different. Alter your clothes all you want, but don't you dare alter your inner freak — she's got your back as much as I do." — Sophia Amoruso, #Girlboss

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Marilyn Monroe

On shoes:
"Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." ― Marilyn Monroe

Anna Wintour

Sheryl Sandberg

On your best accessory:
"When I don't feel confident, one tactic I've learned is that it sometimes helps to fake it. I discovered this when I was an aerobics instructor in the 1980s. Influenced by the gospel of Jane Fonda, aerobics also meant smiling solidly for a full hour. Some days, the smile came naturally. Other days, I was in a lousy mood and had to fake it. Yet after an hour of forced smiling, I often felt cheerful...Research backs up this 'fake it till you feel it strategy'."— Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead

Mindy Kaling

On being happy in your own skin:
I feel like I have been able to have a fun career and be an on-camera talent and be someone who has boyfriends and love interests and wears nice clothes and those kinds of things without having to be an emaciated stick. And it is possible to do it. In life, you don't have to be that way and you can have a great life, a fun life, and a fulfilling love life." ― Mindy Kaling, Teen Vogue

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Anne Klein

On girl power:
“Clothes aren’t going to change the world, the women who wear them will.” ― Anne Klein

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Tina Fey

On what not to wear:
“If you are a woman and you bought this book for practical tips on how to make it in a male-dominated workplace, here they are. No pigtails, no tube tops. Cry sparingly. (Some people say “Never let them see you cry.” I say, if you’re so mad you could just cry, then cry. It terrifies everyone.)” ― Tina Fey, Bossypants

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Whitney Houston

On women's fashion:
"I like being a woman, even in a man’s world. After all, men can’t wear dresses, but we can wear the pants." ― Whitney Houston

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Miucca Prada

On happiness:
“When I design and wonder what the point is, I think of someone having a bad time in their life. Maybe they are sad and they wake up and put on something I have made and it makes them feel just a bit better. So, in that sense, fashion is a little help in the life of a person. But only a little.” ― Miuccia Prada

Mary Quant

Lady Gaga

On sparkle:
"I'm just trying to change the world, one sequin at a time." ― Lady Gaga

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Hillary Clinton

On the importance of presentation:
"I think that for many women in the public eye, it just seems that the burden is so heavy. We're doing a job that is not a celebrity job or an entertainment or fashion job.... In a professional setting, treat us as professionals.... [And] it takes a lot of time. I've often laughed with my male colleagues, like, "What did you do? You took a shower, you combed your hair, you put your clothes on. I couldn't do that." ― Hillary Clinton, Glamour, September 2014

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Virginia Woolf

On the power of clothes:
"Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world's view of us." ― Virginia Woolf